Sam Rainsy Deleted From Voter List for Election
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| [Sam Rainsy in Manila for the launch of the IPCDEC] |
By Khuon Narim and Dene-Hern Chen, The Cambodia Daily
05 November 2012
The national Election Committee (NEC) has removed opposition leader Sam Rainsy from the voter list for next year's national election on the grounds that he is a convicted criminal, an NEC official said yesterday.
The decision means that even if Mr. Rainsy is granted royal pardon, he will be unable to participate in the national election because hte official vote registration period is now over.
Vote Monitor Says No Provision in Law to Delete Rainsy's Name
The Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel) on Tuesday accused the National Election Committee (NEC) of making a legally baseless decision in erasing opposition leader Sam Rainsy's name from the national voter list, and said that the decision was a first for the country.
Comfrel also challenged the NEC to disclose the names of the other convicts, apart from Mr. Rainsy, who have had their names deleted from the voter list.
On Monday, the Constitutional Council upheld a decision made last month by the NEC to strike Mr. Rainsy's name off the list, exhausting the last avenue of appeal and ruling out any possibility for Mr. Rainsy to participate in the 2013 national election, should he return from exile.
Comfrel said clerks at Daun Penh district's Boeng Raing commune office originally deleted Mr. Rainsy's name because they believed that convicted people had no right to be listed as voters as per Article 50 of the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly. However, Comfrel argued that there are no provisions in the election law to take such action.
Article 50 states only that a person must be Khmer, 18 or over, not insane and not in prison in order to register to vote. The article makes no mention of the removal of the name of the convicted person.
"Comfrel believes that Mr. Rainsy's name was deleted because the commune councilor's and NEC decision was not based on the rule of law, and there are no real procedures to delete the name of a convicted person from the list," the group said in a statement.
"Article 50 outlines the conditions for people who have the right to register, but the article does not say that people who have been registered on the list can be deleted from the list," the statement said.
In March 2011, the Supreme Court upheld a verdict against Mr. Rainsy, who was convicted in 2009 of destruction of public property and spreading disinformation, and has since lived in self-imposed exile in France. Supporters of Mr. Rainsy say the cases and his conviction were politically motivated.
Koul Panha, the executive director of Comfrel, said the opposition leader's name should not have been stricken because the law is murky on the subject and also because there still exists a possibility that Mr. Rainsy could receive a Royal Pardon before the next national election takes place on July 28.
"I know that there is no law that allows commune councilors and NEC to have the right to withdraw Mr. Rainsy's name or another convicted person from the voter list," Mr. Panha said. If the NEC is serious about enforcing such a rule, then the Ministry of Justice should send the NEC a list of convicted people o make sure they cannot vote either, Mr. Panha said.
Justice Ministry Cabinet chief Sam Pracheamanith declined to comment as to whether the ministry provides the election committee with the names of all convicted people to ensure they do not vote.
NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha also declined to comment as to whether a list of names of convicted criminals even exists.
He did insist though that convicted people have been deleted from the list since 2003.
By Eang Mengleng, The Cambodia Daily (print edition)
22 November 2012
Comfrel also challenged the NEC to disclose the names of the other convicts, apart from Mr. Rainsy, who have had their names deleted from the voter list.
On Monday, the Constitutional Council upheld a decision made last month by the NEC to strike Mr. Rainsy's name off the list, exhausting the last avenue of appeal and ruling out any possibility for Mr. Rainsy to participate in the 2013 national election, should he return from exile.
Comfrel said clerks at Daun Penh district's Boeng Raing commune office originally deleted Mr. Rainsy's name because they believed that convicted people had no right to be listed as voters as per Article 50 of the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly. However, Comfrel argued that there are no provisions in the election law to take such action.
Article 50 states only that a person must be Khmer, 18 or over, not insane and not in prison in order to register to vote. The article makes no mention of the removal of the name of the convicted person.
"Comfrel believes that Mr. Rainsy's name was deleted because the commune councilor's and NEC decision was not based on the rule of law, and there are no real procedures to delete the name of a convicted person from the list," the group said in a statement.
"Article 50 outlines the conditions for people who have the right to register, but the article does not say that people who have been registered on the list can be deleted from the list," the statement said.
In March 2011, the Supreme Court upheld a verdict against Mr. Rainsy, who was convicted in 2009 of destruction of public property and spreading disinformation, and has since lived in self-imposed exile in France. Supporters of Mr. Rainsy say the cases and his conviction were politically motivated.
Koul Panha, the executive director of Comfrel, said the opposition leader's name should not have been stricken because the law is murky on the subject and also because there still exists a possibility that Mr. Rainsy could receive a Royal Pardon before the next national election takes place on July 28.
"I know that there is no law that allows commune councilors and NEC to have the right to withdraw Mr. Rainsy's name or another convicted person from the voter list," Mr. Panha said. If the NEC is serious about enforcing such a rule, then the Ministry of Justice should send the NEC a list of convicted people o make sure they cannot vote either, Mr. Panha said.
Justice Ministry Cabinet chief Sam Pracheamanith declined to comment as to whether the ministry provides the election committee with the names of all convicted people to ensure they do not vote.
NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha also declined to comment as to whether a list of names of convicted criminals even exists.
He did insist though that convicted people have been deleted from the list since 2003.
"Not only Sam Rainsy, but other convicted prisoners have to be removed from the list during the registration period, for the annual update of the voter list."Mr. Nytha was also unable to say how many convicts - apart from Mr. Rainsy - had their names deleted from the voter list this year.
US Lawmakers slam Cambodia's Prime Minister
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[Senator John McCain (L) speaks as Senator Joe Lieberman looks
on during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2011.
Photograph: Reuters]
|
By David Boyle, The Phnom Penh Post
12 November 2012
A dozen senior US lawmakers have sent a damning indictment of Prime Minister Hun Sen to newly re-elected President Barack Obama, accusing the Cambodian premier of links to high-profile cases of illegal logging and a raft of human-rights abuses.
The International Parliamentary Committee for Democratic Elections is a group of like-minded parliamentarians expressing their solidarity to promote full and inclusive democracy in Cambodia. An introduction to the IPCDEC is available here.
You can reach the IPCDEC through the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats Secretariat at:
Unit 410, 4/F La Fuerza Plaza 2,
2241 Don Chino Roces Avenue, 1231 Makati City, Philippines
Tel. No. +63 2 819 6071
Fax No. +63 2 810 1431
Mobile No. +63 908 890 8978
Email: ipcdec@cald.org; mico_espina@cald.org
10 comments:
this is the sen's world, what do you expect?
Sam Rainsy's political career is over. As long as the CPP runs the country, Sam Rainsy will never have a chance to return back to Cambodia at all. Like father like son, Sam Rainsy is followed his father's foot step and will going to live in exile for good.
Why bother organize an election anyway if you know who's gong to win???? save the money and construct more infrastructure. Would Hun Sen agree to this??????
4:26 PM,
Save the money and construct more infrastructure in Cambodia to benefit the Viets when they completely take over Cambodia? That reminds me during Vietnam war. The Vietcong/North Vietnamese (VC/NV) destroyed mostly old infrastructure, especially old bridges in South Vietnam so Americans would build them new ones the next day. After winning the war over the South, the North Vietnam have everything new. Now the tricks play a role in Cambodia again. That's why Vietnamese has not objected to Chinese aid/loan even though both of them are enemies.
I fully support the indictment proposed by a dozen of U.S Lawmakers brought against Hun Sen’s Regime, and his Cronies. This Shadow Government has turned Cambodia into a Mafia State, and Personal Corporation. The myriad of pain and suffering has to stop, and we must Say No to dictator—Hun Sen, and his criminal associates and family members.
J7, USA.
Under these CPP dog Viet all Khmers must stand up, otherwise you all will lose your land forever.
បើនិយាយ ពីគូប្រជែងរបស់អាមេយូកូងបាតផ្សារ
ង្វៀងហ៊ុន សែន (អាមេអបគមន៍ធំជាងគេ ក្នុងស្រុកខ្មែរ)
គឺវាអត់តាំងពីដើមទី....
ក្រោយប្រហារខែកកដា១៩៩៧មកម៉្លេះ!
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គូប្រជែងមានដែរ តែជា(គូប្រជែងមិនខ្មេះស្វាប៉ាហ៊ីស៊ីឈ្នួលយួនCPP)-ក្លែងក្លាយ:
-អាង្វៀងសម រង្ស៊ី,
-អាង្វៀងកឹម សុខា
-មីង្វៀងមួ សុខហួ...(យួនយៀកកុង បង្កប់)
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វាដៀតែខ្នូច និង អាគណបក្សអេតចាយ
អាសុខ-អាសៅ ច្រមិកច្រមក់
បល់អាចម៍-អង់កាច់-អង់កោច-អង្ករលីង!។
ដែលអាង្វៀងហ៊ុន សែនជាវាអ្នកបង្កើត...
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លើសពីនេះ...អារដ្ឋាភិបាលចោរង្វៀងហ៊ុន សែន
ក៏វាជាអ្នកបង្កើតព្រះមហាក្សត្រផងដែរ........
ស្រីម៉ៅ
Hun Sen and his Vietnamese boss desperately want to put Sam Rainsy in Prey Sar Prison, to break his moral and fighting spirit against Hun Sen and Vietnam Imperialist.
We, Cambodian patriots support wholeheartedly the decision of Sam Rainsy not to enter into Cambodia without security guaranteed by international communities and Hun Sen government. Sam Rainsy is the only Cambodian who dares to officially criticize Vietnam for using the following illegal treaties to annex Cambodian territory:
Treaty of July 7. 1982 on historical water agreement in which Cambodia lost 30,000.00 square kilometers of sea water and many island including Kas Tral;
Treaty of July 20, 1983 on principle of resolution of border issues which recognized the free crossing of Cambodian borders and the surge of illegal Vietnamese immigrants and settlers( to date about 4,000,000.00 illegal Vietnamese in Cambodia);
Treaty of December 27, 1985 on border delimitation which recognized new Vietnamese settlement on the demarcation of land borders between the two countries from North to South along 1,230 km of border length;
Treaty of 2005 is a supplemental treaty which legitimize the illegal treaty of 1985.
Anybody who called Sam Rainsy a coward is either a Vietnamese citizen or a Khmer Vietnamese Slave (kgnom Yurn). Why should Sam Rainsy receive the prison term as indicted by the nondependent court controlled by Hun Sen et al? He rightfully pulled the illegitimated border stick installed by Vietnamese invader.
ហ៊ី!អស់លោកខ្មែរអ្នកចេះដឹងចង់ធ្វើ ធំមន្រ្តីរាជការ
បើអស់លោករាប់ចំនួនមនុស្សប្រៀបគេទៅនិង ពង
មាន់ពងទា ទៅហើយនោះ តើលោកមានបានគិតពី
ឋានៈនិងមុខមាត់គេខ្លះដែរឬទេ? ខ្ញុំដូចជាមិនចង់
និយាយចេញទេ តែបើបណ្តោយយូៗទៅ ខ្លាចនិង
ក្លាយទៅជាប្រពៃណី។
លោកអ្នកចេះ បើលោកប្រៀបគេថា ក្មេងថ្នាក់កុមារ
ដ្ឋាន បើលោករាប់មនុស្សអ្នកតាក់ច្បាប់អាមេរិកាំង
ស្មើនិងស៊ុតទៅហើយនោះ តើដល់ពេលជួបប្រឹក្សា ឬពិភាក្សាផ្លូវការ តើលោកប្រើពាក្យដូចម្តេចដែ?។
ខ្ញុំបាទសូមមិនអត្ថាធិប្បាយពីការបោះឆ្នោតទេ.ព្រោះថាបោះទាល់ស្លាប់ខ្មែរអស់ពីនគរក៏មិនឈ្នះ
គណៈបក្សប្រជាជនដែរ៕
there is a giant step in the right direction would be to accept the fact that you're still a bunch of sore losers ( ScamSR and the followers). History will also judge your performent according to your useless and weak agendas, and the history will be written ScamSR as a paranoid leader, cry baby, fugitive, and a bunch of psychopath opportunist waiting to take advantage of poor people. The world have watched you sore losers haven't done anything to make Cambodian proud of your records. There're not a single list of all the good things you have done in the past and now to uplift people life. My hero samdach Hun Sen will forgive your sorry asses if you joined the CPP for this up comming election. You potato diggers made lots of painful mistakes in the past by dividing Cambodia apart, which is shame on you sore losers. It certainly that we (CPP) would forgive you if your leader ScamSr come back to Cambodia and serve his sentences and futher improve his image as a strong leader not the fugitive one. If he didn't dare to come back than stop begging for forgiveness from my hero Hun Sen, maybe it would be wise to seek counseling from Pi Anh.hahahaahah
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